Determine the culture at your company, and then make a simple business plan with that in mind.

That was the theme of a panel discussion Friday put on by the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal that included four local CEOs who talked about merging a company’s business strategy with its corporate culture.

>Click to the right to see photos of the event. >>>>>

Most business plans can be boiled down to one page of clear, measurable strategies, said Dan Ferrise, the CEO of Eagan-based Miller Manufacturing Co., a 200-employee manufacturer and wholesale distributor of farm, ranch and pet products.

At Miller, new hires get a copy of the business plan sent to their house, along with a letter from Ferrise welcoming them, plus a catalog of the company’s goods. That results in quicker buy-in to the company’s culture and its goals, Ferrise said.

If they don't buy in, maybe they don't belong. Hiring and keeping employees who fit company’s culture is important, the panel agreed.

Executives shouldn’t get too attached to employees that don’t fit in, said John Palen, CEO of Woodbury-based Allied Executives, a peer group organization for Twin Cities executives, who moderated the panel.

“Employees are either on the bus, they need to change seats, or they need to get off,” Palen said.

That can be hard if the employee is producing great financial results, but it still holds true, said Travis Penrod, the CEO of Interstate Cos. Inc.

Interstate is a Bloomington-based company that operates semi-truck mechanic shops and truck dealerships around the country. It had about $450 million in annual sales last year and 1,150 employees.

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